International News & Opinions

Peter’s Guide To Reykjavík: Tourist Edition

Reykjavík [Wreck – Yuh – Vick] isn’t just the capital city of Iceland; it’s pretty much the only city in Iceland! On top of that, it’s also home to upward of 1/3rd of Iceland’s population. That statistic alone might make it seem like Reykjavík is a huge city, but the population of Iceland as a whole is barely more than 300,000. So despite Reykjavik’s disproportionate population density, it’s still a tiny city by most standards. More people live in Akron, Ohio than in Reykjavík.

So Reykjavík is small, but it’s reputation is much bigger, and it’s growing quickly. Before World War II, Iceland was one of the poorest countries in Europe, and Reykjavík was cold, smoggy, and lonely. However, now that the world has entered into “The Long Peace,” Iceland’s economy has been on the rise, and Reykjavík has begun to come into its own. Today it’s…